Today, someone posted in a group that I’m a part of a Mental Health Check-In chart that included colored hearts. I, in turn, sent the chart out to several others: family, coworkers and friends. The responses were varied but it made me glad that I was able to share with them and they with me.
There was that one response that I knew would come. You know the one where you’re made to feel like you’re not doing enough for that person. Only thing is this time, I was able to convey to the person that this check in was about their self care, not how I can make them feel better. This check in is not about me.
There was also a response of “I couldn’t decide” on which response to choose. My reply to that, “next time, don’t overthink on your check in. You were trying to weigh your options to see if the “better” one would come out on top. Don’t ask me how I know. I wanted to choose the blue heart but my mouth was hurting and I didn’t want to say I was happy and feeling great because I was in pain”.
So, what’s the meaning behind the above picture? Let me explain: This is how I celebrated myself today. I’ve been wanting a Yeti mug like this for a while now. Aldi has this one, similar, but at a fraction of the cost. You know from a previous post that I broke my tooth. I couldn’t get to the dentist until days later. Well, I was given a late appointment slot and when I got there the dentist said it was too late for her to do anything; come back in the morning. I didn’t have any pain meds at home so I stopped to get some and decided that I “needed self care” even if I didn’t like the outcome of the dental visit. While in Aldi, I noticed that they had the platter on sale. I got both for $10.
Lesson learned. My tooth breaking was an event NOT the totality of my life. I should have chosen the blue heart because it was the one that I felt overall.
My Journey, My Story 